Results of the National Association of College and University Business Officers' annual study of endowment funds and investment performance are summarized. Analysis focuses on size of investment holdings, expenditures, institutional investment patterns, and trends. Data are presented on investment pool asset allocation patterns and rank 495…

Presents Library Journal's 1998 Budget Report, including the cost of linking to the Net; cost of Net maintenance; fund raising for fiscal years 1992, 1996, and 1997; projected budget changes from 1997 to 1998 and provides changes in budgets for 63 public libraries serving rural, suburban, and urban areas. (PEN)

Results of a recent study suggest that school expenditure is important in determining mothers' child-care time. There is a crowding-out effect between school expenditure and a mother's child-care time in lesser educated families. Existing studies may have overestimated school expenditure's true effects on student performance. (Contains 18…

Explores library consortia in the United States with particular focus on academic libraries. Highlights include the history of early consortia; economic issues, including sharing resources and cost savings; types of consortia, including regional, statewide, and those with a focus on automation; and groups of consortia. (Author/LRW)

Discusses issues relating to costs of library and information services in the academic library in transition, reviews the functional cost analysis method, and presents selected data gathered from a larger study on the costs and value of various library services. Applications to a digital information environment are also discussed. (Author/LRW)

Presents national data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2009. Also includes state-level projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates. (Author)

Describes a study at Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg in which cost-benefit analysis (CBA) was used to examine the cost effectiveness of an electronic database. Concludes that librarians can use the results of CBA studies to justify budgets and acquisitions and to provide insight into the true costs of providing library services. (PEN)

Examines whether devoting more resources to education can positively affect the distribution of income within a country. Finds that public-education expenditures appear to be associated with a subsequent decrease in the level of income inequality. Finding is robust to the inclusion of various control variables and appears to be larger in…

Results of state-by-state study of unmet school infrastructure needs using multiple data sources. Found that aggregate unmet infrastructure needs of $266.1 billion were significantly larger than found in earlier studies and varied substantially among states. Suggests different short- and long-term funding strategies to address problem. Includes…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an innovative, classroom-based physical activity prevention program designed to integrate academic curriculum elements along with a physical activity program in providing moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. A convenience sample of three public school classrooms (one first, third, and fifth…

This article talks about eProcurement and examines why school districts are so slow to make the transition. Despite the billions of dollars that flow from schools each year in procurement spending, most K-12 districts in the United States, especially smaller ones, persist in using paperbased procurement models in which supplies are identified in…

This study examines the question of how much households are willing to pay for improvements in the quality of local public education in two areas of a rural school district in Pennsylvania. The study uses the contingent valuation technique to obtain micro-data by personal interview on demand for improved public school quality. Estimates of…

This paper proposes a new analysis of consumption inequality using relational methods, derived from network images of social structure. We combine structural analysis with theoretical concerns in consumer research to propose a relational theory of consumption space, to construct a stratification indicator, and to demonstrate its analytical…

The immediate effects of the Asian crisis on the well-being of Indonesians are examined using the Indonesia Family Life Survey, an ongoing longitudinal household survey. There is tremendous diversity in the effect of the shock: for some households, it was devastating; for others it brought new opportunities. A wide array of mechanisms was adopted…

The "Colorado Children's Budget" presents and analyzes investments and spending trends during the past five state fiscal years on services that benefit children. The "Children's Budget" focuses mainly on state investment and spending, with some analysis of federal investments and spending to provide broader context of state…